Albert I, king of the Belgians

Albert I, 1875–1934, king of the Belgians (1909–34), nephew and successor of Leopold II Leopold II, 1835–1909, king of the Belgians (1865–1909), son and successor of Leopold I . His reign saw great industrial and colonial expansion. In 1876 he organized, with the help of H. M.
..... Click the link for more information. . He married (1900) Elizabeth, a Bavarian princess. In World War I his heroic resistance (1914) to the German invasion of Belgium greatly helped the Allied cause. Albert spent the entire war at the head of his army, and in 1918 he led the Allied offensive that recovered the Belgian coast. The king and queen did much to improve social conditions in Belgium and in the Belgian Congo. Albert's democratic and affable ways won him great regard at home and abroad. He died in a rock-climbing accident and was succeeded by his son, Leopold III Leopold III, 1901–83, king of the Belgians (1934–51), son and successor of Albert I . In 1936, Leopold announced a fundamental change in foreign policy; Belgium abandoned its military alliance with France in favor of a return to neutrality.
..... Click the link for more information. . His daughter, Marie José, married the crown prince (later King Humbert II Humbert II, 1904–83, last king of Italy (1946), son and successor of Victor Emmanuel III. On the abdication (May, 1946) of his father, who was tainted by his long acquiescence (1922–43) to Fascist rule, Humbert succeeded to the throne, pending a
..... Click the link for more information. ) of Italy.

Bibliography

See biography by E. Cammaerts (1935).

Albert I, Holy Roman Emperor

Albert I, c.1250–1308, Holy Roman Emperor (1298–1308), son of Rudolf I Rudolf I or Rudolf of Hapsburg (r
..... Click the link for more information. . Albert was invested with Austria and Styria in 1282 by his father, who also hoped to secure the succession as king of the Germans for Albert. However, on Rudolf's death (1291) the electors electors, in the history of the Holy Roman Empire , the princes who had the right to elect the German kings or, more exactly, the kings of the Romans (Holy Roman emperors).
..... Click the link for more information. rejected Albert's candidacy in order to check the growing power of the Hapsburgs and to prevent the crown from becoming hereditary within the Hapsburg dynasty. They chose Adolf of Nassau Adolf of Nassau (nä`sou), d. 1298, duke of Luxembourg, German king (1292–98).
..... Click the link for more information. as king. Albert later engineered Adolf's deposition and replaced him. As king, Albert attempted to strengthen Hapsburg claims for a hereditary dynasty by allying (1299) with Philip IV of France, by supporting the Rhine towns against the Rhenish imperial electors, and by unsuccessfully attempting (1300) to add Holland and Zeeland to the Hapsburg domains. These actions provoked a revolt (1300–1302) by the Rhenish electors, backed by Pope Boniface VIII Boniface VIII, 1235–1303, pope (1294–1303), an Italian (b. Anagni) named Benedetto Caetani; successor of St. Celestine V.

As a cardinal he was independent of the factions in the papal court, and he opposed the election of Celestine.
..... Click the link for more information. , which Albert suppressed. He later reached an agreement with Boniface, who recognized his title in 1303. Albert attempted to expand his dominion to the east by preventing Wenceslaus II Wenceslaus II, 1271–1305, king of Bohemia (1278–1305) and of Poland (1300–1305), son and successor of Ottocar II . From the death (1278) of his father until 1283 the regency was exercised by Otto, margrave of Brandenburg, appointed by the German
..... Click the link for more information. of Bohemia from acquiring Hungary, but his campaign was unsuccessful until Wenceslaus's death (1305). Albert's son Rudolf succeeded Wenceslaus III (1306). Albert was assassinated by a band of conspirators that included his nephew. Henry of Luxemburg (Henry VII Henry VII, c.1275–1313, Holy Roman emperor (1312–13) and German king (1308–13). A minor count of the house of Luxembourg, Henry was elected German king on the death of King Albert I after the electors had set aside the two main contenders, Albert's
..... Click the link for more information. ) was elected to succeed him.

Albert I

(credit: EB Inc.)

(born April 8, 1875, Brussels, Belg.—died Feb. 17, 1934, Marche-les-Dames, near Namur) King of the Belgians (1909–34). He succeeded his uncle, King Leopold II, in 1909. He strengthened the army while reaffirming Belgian neutrality in 1914, rejecting William II's demand (Aug. 2, 1914) for free passage of German troops across Belgium. Following the Armistice he sought to abolish Belgian neutrality, supported universal male suffrage, and guided the country's rebuilding effort.